BY MIKE STEVENS
SAN DIEGO—The 56-foot sportfishing vessel Jig Strike out of H&M Landing sank at the Cortes Bank on August 31 after sustaining damage to the bow. The crew of the Jig Strike was able to quickly and safely evacuate all passengers. Those passengers were transferred to the Legend (also out of H&M Landing) for the trip back to San Diego.
“At 10:35 a.m. out at Cortes Bank, we struck an unknown object floating just under the surface of the water,” said Jig Strike captain Patrick Doherty. “The collision caused the portside bow to fail and caused us to go down. We were able to get all passengers mustered to the stern, lifejackets on, life raft deployed and everyone off the boat in less than 5 minutes. As fast as everything happened, everyone is safe and uninjured. I would like to thank all the boats that responded to our mayday call, and the captain and crew of the Legend for being on scene in minutes to help us out of the raft and for taking us back to San Diego.”
The Cortes Bank is a shallow seamount located 96 miles southwest of San Pedro, 111 miles west of Point Loma and 47 miles southwest of San Clemente Island.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of the M/V Jig Strike today but also very proud of the crew for carrying out their training under pressure and safely evacuating all passengers,” said Legend Captain Steve Taft. “Everyone is off the boat safely and on their way home aboard the Legend. The boat has been in my family for over 20 years and was where I worked my first full summer with my dad catching tons of albacore. While I am heartbroken about the loss of the boat, what really matters is everyone is safe to fish another day and both the Jig Strike and Legend crew took great care of their passengers.”
Look for more coverage in the next issue of Western Outdoor News
